Observing Vital Signs at Night

Calling it a “Digital Care Assistant (DCA),” researchers in the British National Health System are using optical sensors to track behavioral health patients’ vital signs. “The evaluation revealed that staff can confirm patient safety without disturbing or waking resting patients at night. Between February and April 2019, more than 5,000 observations were taken over 300 patient nights using the new protocol. An in-depth evaluation of 52 observations taken over six patient nights confirmed that the observations taken with support of the DCA were just as safe as those taken without it; and there have been no incidents related to the system.” MORE